ChatGPT Calculations, Risking Life On Jet Ski: How A Palestinian Fled Gaza War To End Up In Europe
Muhammad Abu Dakha is awaiting a court to examine his application and provide approval for asylum in Germany.
In a one-of-a-kind survival tale, Muhammad Abu Dakha, a 31-year-old Palestinian not only escaped the grips of a two-year-long war in Gaza but also helped friends along the way.
His journey began when he gave $5,000 and crossed the Rafah border point into Egypt in April 2024. Then he thought of travelling to China to seek shelter and had an exchange with UN Refugee Agency representation in China between August and September 2024 from August and September 2024. Alas, the country did not have any to offer.
He then made his return back to Egypt through Malaysia and Indonesia; it was his next adventure, or rather misadventure, that led him to purchase a $5,000 jet ski along with equipment, such as a satellite phone, worth $1,500.
On his 12-hour jet ski ride, he took along 27-year-old Diaa and 23-year-old Bassem, two other Palestinians.
The three asked ChatGPT's assist to figure out the amount of fuel they would need to reach Lampedusa but fell short and had to call for a rescue team when they had some 20 kilometres to go.
A man named Bassem, who didn't give his last name, and his companion were rescued by a Romanian patrol boat participating in a Frontex mission. A spokesperson for the EU border agency called their rescue "an unusual occurrence".
Bassem said the journey was "very difficult", but that they "were adventurers" and had "strong hope" they would make it, and that "God gave us strength".
Final Lap
After informing Reuters about his exciting escapade and giving the agency all his documents and records, Dakha set on to the last round of the survival race.
After arriving in Lampedusa, the three men's journey continued. They were first taken by ferry to mainland Sicily and then transferred to a bus bound for Genoa. However, they managed to escape from the bus before it reached its final destination. An Italian interior ministry spokesperson stated that the ministry had no specific information regarding the trio's movements.
After hiding in the bushes for several hours, Abu Dakha boarded a plane from Genoa to Brussels. He provided Reuters with a boarding pass in his name for a budget flight to Brussels Charleroi on August 23. From Brussels, he reported traveling to Germany. His journey involved taking a train to Cologne, then another to Osnabrueck in Lower Saxony. There, a relative met him by car and drove him to Bramsche, a nearby town.
Currently, he is awaiting a court to examine his application and provide approval for asylum in Germany. With no income and shelter, he is putting up in a local centre for asylum seekers.
'Without Family, My Life Has No Meaning'
Abu Dakha plans on bringing his wife and two children, aged four and six (one of whom also has a neurological condition which requires medical treatment) to Germany, as soon as he secures the right to stay in Germany. "That's why I risked my life on a jet ski," he said. "Without my family, life has no meaning."
His family is currently in a tent camp in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. His father informed that Dakha used to earn plenty through an internet shop before everything came crashing down.
